The present invention relates generally to firefighting equipment and more particularly to a portable valve that can be attached to fire hydrants and operated remotely.
In firefighting, fire hoses are usually connected to those fire hydrants nearest the fire, which are oftentimes hundreds of feet from the fire. A fireman removes a hose and hardware from the fire truck and places it at the hydrant. The firefighter then flushes the hydrant and attaches a valve and hose. When the hose is attached, the hydrant is opened; but it is not always known whether the valve itself will need to be opened. Opening the valve fills the hose with water, and commits the fire-fighters to a time-consuming and physically demanding process of draining the hose before it can be rolled and stored. This time commitment can be dangerous because the firefighters can be called to another site at any time, and added firefighter stress can cause a variety of problems.
To avoid the commitment that results from opening a valve, firefighters can be reluctant to open a valve until it is clear that doing so is needed or justified. When the hydrant is located far from the fire location, a firefighting team could send a firefighter back to the hydrant to open the valve only after confirming that the valve should be opened. However, sending a firefighter back to a remote hydrant requires time when time may be at a premium and occupies a firefighter who might be better employed at the fire scene. Firefighting teams sometimes leave one firefighter stationed at the hydrant, but this is still inefficient, particularly when the team has few members.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,580,596; 5,178,185; 7,040,339; and 3,981,618 all disclose valves that can be used in firefighting, but none of those valves offer a good solution to this long-felt problem.
Instead, hose clamps such as those seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,004 have been developed. Those clamps enable a firefighter to open a hydrant without committing to completely filling the hose. However, some water must flow through the hose even to keep the valve closed. Furthermore, the hose clamp cannot be commanded from a remote distance to quickly shut off the flow of water as might be needed in the case of a burst hose.
Alternatively, special time-delay valves such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,022,421; 4,114,653; and 4,651,772 can be attached to a hydrant. Those valves delay the flow of water into the hose for a period of time after the hydrant is opened. This approach gives firefighters time to assess the situation and close the hydrant before water flows into the hose, but is also dangerous. First, the device can lead to a dangerous situation if the firefighters forget that the hydrant has been opened. Second, the device delays the flow from the hydrant even when firefighters find that they need water from the hydrant immediately.
Other devices that attempt to solve the problem, such as the device covered by U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,459, use battery power to mechanically open the hydrant on radio commands. Another device used a battery-powered gate valve that was attached between the hydrant and the hose and could be opened and closed on radio commands. These devices are (or were) bulky, heavy, and expensive, and require significant battery power to provide the motive force needed to act against the water pressure. Because battery life is a significant concern, some firefighters viewed these remote control devices with skepticism.
No known prior device found universal market acceptance.